Without being aware of it she was dropping into sleep.  The sound of a footstep on the wooden floor of the verandah recalled her.  It was at some distance behind her.  It crossed the verandah and stopped.  She felt quite certain that it was the step of her fellow-traveller, not because she knew he was staying in the hotel, but rather because of the curious, uneven heaviness of the tread.

What was he doing?  Looking over the parapet into the fruit gardens, where the white figures of the Arabs were flitting through the trees?

He was perfectly silent.  Domini was now wide awake.  The feeling of calm serenity had left her.  She was nervously troubled by this presence near her, and swiftly recalled the few trifling incidents of the day which had begun to delineate a character for her.  They were, she found, all unpleasant, all, at least, faintly disagreeable.  Yet, in sum, what was their meaning?  The sketch they traced was so slight, so confused, that it told little.  The last incident was the strangest.  And again she saw the long and luminous pathway of the tunnel, flickering with light and shade, carpeted with the pale reflections of the leaves and narrow branches of the trees, the black figure of the priest far down it, and the tall form of the stranger in an attitude of painful hesitation.  Each time she had seen him, apparently desirous of doing something definite, hesitation had overtaken him.  In his indecision there was something horrible to her, something alarming.

She wished he was not standing behind her, and her discomfort increased.  She could still hear the voices of the soldiers in the cafe.  Perhaps he was listening to them.  They sounded louder.

The speakers were getting up from their seats.  There was a jingling of spurs, a tramp of feet, and the voices died away.  The church bell chimed again.  As it did so Domini heard heavy and uneven steps cross the verandah hurriedly.  An instant later she heard a window shut sharply.

“Suzanne!” she called.

Her maid appeared, yawning, with various parcels in her hands.

“Yes, Mademoiselle.”

“I sha’n’t go down to the salle-a-manger to-night.  Tell them to give me some dinner in my salon.”

“Yes, Mademoiselle.”

“You did not see who was on the verandah just now?”

The maid looked surprised.

“I was in Mademoiselle’s room.”

“Yes.  How near the church is.”

“Mademoiselle will have no difficulty in getting to Mass.  She will not be obliged to go among all the Arabs.”

Domini smiled.

“I have come here to be among the Arabs, Suzanne.”

“The porter of the omnibus tells me they are dirty and very dangerous.  They carry knives, and their clothes are full of fleas.”

“You will feel quite differently about them in the morning.  Don’t forget about dinner.”

“I will speak about it at once, Mademoiselle.”